Storage device with error recovery indication

ABSTRACT

Various embodiments are provided that enable a controller of a storage device having storage media to perform one or more error recovery operations on the storage media, and to convey, while performing the one or more error recovery operations, a message indicating a status of the one or more error recovery operations to a host processor in communication with the storage device. Storage devices implementing embodiments of the present invention include hard disk drives and solid state disk drives comprising a disk head having a magnetoresistive (MR) element configured to read and write data to and from the storage media, and coupled to an analog/digital (A/D) converter, and the error recovery operations are selected from a list of changing an automatic gain control of the A/D converter, positioning the disk head off-track in order to read the data, and adjusting a bias value of the MR element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/799,096, filed on Jul. 14, 2015, which is a Continuation of U.S. Pat.No. 9,317,382, filed on May 21, 2013, which is related to U.S. Pat. No.9,081,741, filed on even date, both of which are incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to storage devices, andspecifically to a storage device configured to convey an error recoverystatus.

BACKGROUND

Subsequent to processing input/output (I/O) requests over a period oftime, a storage device (e.g., a hard disk) may detect problems such asadjacent track interference, which can impact the reliability of datastored on the storage device. Adjacent track interference can occur if aparticular track of the storage device is written a large number oftimes (e.g., 30,000 times or more) without writing to any adjacenttracks. The large number of writes on the particular track may causesome magnetic flux interference on the adjacent tracks that, over manywrite cycles, can accumulate and leave the adjacent tracks unreadable.In other words, data stored on the adjacent tracks can become corrupteddue to adjacent track interference. Various techniques for detecting andcorrecting storage device problems such as adjacent track interferenceare known in the art.

The description above is presented as a general overview of related artin this field and should not be construed as an admission that any ofthe information it contains constitutes prior art against the presentpatent application.

SUMMARY

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention an apparatus, including storage media configured to storedata; and a hardware controller having a controller processor configuredto perform one or more error recovery operations on the storage media.The controller processor is configured to convey, while performing theone or more error recovery operations, a message indicating a status ofthe one or more error recovery operations to a host processor incommunication with the storage device; to receive, from the hostprocessor, a request to identify the one or more error recoveryoperations; to convey, in response to receiving the request, a messageto the host processor identifying the one or more error recoveryoperations; to receive, from the host processor, a subsequent request tocancel one of the one or more identified error recovery operations; andto cancel execution of the one of the one or more identified errorrecovery operations in response to the subsequent request. The one ofthe one or more identified error recovery operations may comprise afirst error recovery operation currently executing on the controllerprocessor and/or a second error recovery operation scheduled to beexecuted by the controller processor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates a storagesystem, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a module of the storage system coupled to astorage device configured to convey an error recovery status, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that schematically illustrates a method ofperforming one or more error recovery operations for the storage device,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

When a storage device detects a problem such as adjacent trackinterference, the storage device can enter an “error recovery mode”, andexecute one or more error recovery operations to correct the problem.While the storage device is in an error recovery mode, the storagedevice may receive, from a host processor, a request to perform aninput/output (I/O) operation, and upon receiving the I/O request, thestorage device can queue the I/O request. Once the storage devicecompletes executing the one or more error recovery operations and exitsthe error recovery mode, the storage device can then process the queuedI/O request.

While waiting for completion of an I/O request conveyed to a storagedevice that is currently in an error recovery mode, a host processor maynot receive any indication that the storage device is in an errorrecovery mode. In other words, the host processor cannot determine ifthe storage device is not responding to the I/O request due to a storagedevice failure or due to the storage device performing one or more errorrecovery operations.

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods and systems for astorage device in an error recovery mode to convey a status of the errorrecovery mode to the host processor. The storage device may comprisestorage media and a controller having a processor configured to performone or more error recovery operations on the storage media, and toconvey, while performing the one or more error recovery operations, amessage indicating a status of the one or more error recovery operationsto the host processor.

In some embodiments, upon receiving an I/O request from a host processorwhile performing an error recovery operation, the controller can beconfigured to convey a message to the host processor indicating that thestorage device is in an error recovery mode. In alternative embodiments,upon initiating one or more error recovery operations, the controllercan be configured to broadcast a first message to the host processorindicating that the storage device is in an error recovery mode, andupon completion of the one or more error recovery operations, thecontroller can broadcast a second message to the host processorindicating that the storage device is no longer in the error recoverymode.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that schematically illustrates a dataprocessing storage subsystem 20, in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. The particular subsystem (also referred to herein as astorage system) shown in FIG. 1 is presented to facilitate anexplanation of the invention. However, as the skilled artisan willappreciate, the invention can be practiced using other computingenvironments, such as other storage subsystems with diversearchitectures and capabilities.

Storage subsystem 20 receives, from one or more host computers 22,input/output (I/O) requests, which are commands to read or write data atlogical addresses on logical volumes. Any number of host computers 22are coupled to storage subsystem 20 by any means known in the art, forexample, using a network. Herein, by way of example, host computers 22and storage subsystem 20 are assumed to be coupled by a Storage AreaNetwork (SAN) 26 incorporating data connections 24 and Host Bus Adapters(HBAs) 28. The logical addresses specify a range of data blocks within alogical volume, each block herein being assumed by way of example tocontain 512 bytes. For example, a 10 KB data record used in a dataprocessing application on a given host computer 22 would require 20blocks, which the given host computer might specify as being stored at alogical address comprising blocks 1,000 through 1,019 of a logicalvolume. Storage subsystem 20 may operate in, or as, a SAN system.

Storage subsystem 20 comprises a clustered storage controller 34 coupledbetween SAN 26 and a private network 46 using data connections 30 and44, respectively, and incorporating adapters 32 and 42, againrespectively. In some configurations, adapters 32 and 42 may comprisehost bus adapters (HBAs). Clustered storage controller 34 implementsclusters of storage modules 36, each of which includes an interface 38(in communication between adapters 32 and 42), and a cache 40. Eachstorage module 36 is responsible for a number of storage devices 50 byway of a data connection 48 as shown.

As described previously, each storage module 36 further comprises agiven cache 40. However, it will be appreciated that the number ofcaches 40 used in storage subsystem 20 and in conjunction with clusteredstorage controller 34 may be any convenient number. While all caches 40in storage subsystem 20 may operate in substantially the same manner andcomprise substantially similar elements, this is not a requirement. Eachof the caches 40 may be approximately equal in size and is assumed to becoupled, by way of example, in a one-to-one correspondence with a set ofphysical storage devices 50, which may comprise disks. In oneembodiment, physical storage devices may comprise such disks. Thoseskilled in the art will be able to adapt the description herein tocaches of different sizes.

Each set of storage devices 50 comprises multiple slow and/or fastaccess time mass storage devices, herein below assumed to be multiplehard disks. FIG. 1 shows caches 40 coupled to respective sets of storagedevices 50. In some configurations, the sets of storage devices 50comprise one or more hard disks, which can have different performancecharacteristics. In response to an I/O command, a given cache 40, by wayof example, may read or write data at addressable physical locations ofa given storage device 50. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, caches 40are able to exercise certain control functions over storage devices 50.These control functions may alternatively be realized by hardwaredevices such as disk controllers (not shown), which are linked to caches40.

Each storage module 36 is operative to monitor its state, including thestates of associated caches 40, and to transmit configurationinformation to other components of storage subsystem 20 for example,configuration changes that result in blocking intervals, or limit therate at which I/O requests for the sets of physical storage areaccepted.

Routing of commands and data from HBAs 28 to clustered storagecontroller 34 and to each cache 40 may be performed over a networkand/or a switch. Herein, by way of example, HBAs 28 may be coupled tostorage modules 36 by at least one switch (not shown) of SAN 26, whichcan be of any known type having a digital cross-connect function.Additionally or alternatively, HBAs 28 may be coupled to storage modules36.

In some embodiments, data having contiguous logical addresses can bedistributed among modules 36, and within the storage devices in each ofthe modules. Alternatively, the data can be distributed using otheralgorithms, e.g., byte or block interleaving. In general, this increasesbandwidth, for instance, by allowing a volume in a SAN or a file innetwork attached storage to be read from or written to more than onegiven storage device 50 at a time. However, this technique requirescoordination among the various storage devices, and in practice mayrequire complex provisions for any failure of the storage devices, and astrategy for dealing with error checking information, e.g., a techniquefor storing parity information relating to distributed data. Indeed,when logical unit partitions are distributed in sufficiently smallgranularity, data associated with a single logical unit may span all ofthe storage devices 50.

While such hardware is not explicitly shown for purposes of illustrativesimplicity, clustered storage controller 34 may be adapted forimplementation in conjunction with certain hardware, such as a rackmount system, a midplane, and/or a backplane. Indeed, private network 46in one embodiment may be implemented using a backplane. Additionalhardware such as the aforementioned switches, processors, controllers,memory devices, and the like may also be incorporated into clusteredstorage controller 34 and elsewhere within storage subsystem 20, againas the skilled artisan will appreciate. Further, a variety of softwarecomponents, operating systems, firmware, and the like may be integratedinto one storage subsystem 20.

Storage devices 50 may comprise a combination of high capacity hard diskdrives and solid state disk drives. In some embodiments, each of storagedevices 50 may comprise a logical storage device. In storage systemsimplementing the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) protocol, thelogical storage devices may be referred to as logical units, or LUNs.While each LUN can be addressed as a single logical unit, the LUN maycomprise a combination of high capacity hard disk drives and/or solidstate disk drives.

Examples of adapters 32 and 42 include switched fabric adapters such asFibre Channel (FC) adapters, Internet Small Computer System Interface(iSCSI) adapters, Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) adapters andInfiniband™ adapters.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a given module 36 coupled to a givenstorage device 50 configured to convey an error recovery status, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Module 36comprises a module processor 60 (also referred to herein as a hostprocessor) and a volatile memory 62. In operation, host processor 60executes, from memory 62, a storage application 64 that is configured toconvey input/output (I/O) requests to storage devices 50.

Storage device 50 comprises a non-volatile storage media 66 and acontroller 68. Storage media 66 comprises non-volatile devices and/ormaterials configured to store data. Examples of storage media 66 includeplatters for a hard disk drive and non-volatile random access memory(NVRAM) modules for a solid state drive (SSD).

Controller 68 comprises a controller processor 70, a non-volatile memory72 and a volatile memory 74. Controller processor 70 is configured toexecute a controller application 76 from non-volatile memory 72 thatenables module 36 to access (i.e., read/write) data on storage media 66in order to process I/O requests received from module processor 60. Inembodiments where storage device 50 comprises a hard disk, processor 70executes controller application 76 to control motors (not shown) on thestorage device, and to command disk heads (not shown) to read or writedata.

Volatile memory 74 comprises a read command queue 78, a write commandqueue 80 and error recovery data 82. Upon receiving a read data request,controller processor 70 is configured to store the read data request toread command queue 78, and upon receiving a write data request, thecontroller processor is configured to store the write data request towrite command queue 80. In operation, controller processor 70 isconfigured to retrieve read data requests from read command queue 78,retrieve the requested data from storage media 66, and convey therequested data to module processor 60. Likewise, controller processor 70is configured to retrieve write data requests from write command queue80, store the write request data to storage media 66, and convey a writecompletion acknowledgement to module processor 60.

Controller processor 70 is also configured to perform error recoveryoperations on storage media 66. For example, if storage device 50comprises a disk drive comprising an analog/digital (A/D) convertercoupled to a disk head having a magnetoresistive (MR) element, thenexamples of error recovery operations that controller processor 70 canperform include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Changing an automatic gain control of the A/D converter.    -   Positioning the disk head off-track in order to read data.    -   Adjusting a bias value of the MR element.

While controller processor 70 is performing a given error recoveryoperation, storage device 50 is considered to be in an error recoverymode. Additionally, upon completing a given error recovery operation,controller processor 70 can calculate a historical average completiontime for the given error recovery operation, and store a historicalaverage completion time to error recovery data 82.

In operation, upon detecting a problem such as adjacent trackinterference, controller processor 70 can perform one or more errorrecovery operations in order to resolve the problem. In embodimentsdescribed herein, controller processor 70 can coordinate execution ofthe one or more error recovery operations with module processor 60. Forexample, if storage device 50 comprises a SCSI storage device, examplesof interactions between module processor 60 and controller processor 70include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Upon receiving an I/O request from module processor 60,        controller processor 70 can convey a Check Condition message        indicating that storage device 50 is in an error recovery mode        that comprises one or more error recovery operations.    -   Once module processor 60 detects that storage device 50 is in an        error recovery mode, the module processor can convey a        Request_Sense command to controller processor 70, and the        controller processor can responsively convey a message        identifying the error recovery operation currently being        performed on the storage device.    -   Module processor 60 can convey an Abort Task command to        controller processor 70 to cancel execution of an error recovery        operation currently being performed on storage device 50.    -   Subsequent to module processor 60 detecting that storage device        50 is in an error recovery mode, module processor 60 can convey        an Inquiry command to controller processor 70 requesting the        controller processor to identify the one or more error recovery        operations that are scheduled to be performed while storage        device 50 is in error recovery mode.    -   As described supra, controller processor 70 can store an average        completion time for each error recovery operation to error        recovery data 82. Controller processor 70 can store error        recovery data 82 to a SCSI mode page (not shown), and module        processor 60 can query the SCSI mode page for an average        completion time of a given error recovery operation.    -   As described supra, controller processor 70 may perform several        error recovery operations while storage device 50 is in an error        recovery mode. Upon receiving a message indicating that storage        device 50 is in an error recovery mode, module processor 60 can        send a Mode Page Set command to define either which error        recovery operations to perform or which scheduled error recovery        operations to cancel.

Therefore, error recovery status information that controller processor70 can convey to module processor 60 includes, but is not limited to, anidentification of an error recovery operation currently executing on thecontroller processor, an identification of one or more additional errorrecovery operations scheduled for execution, and a historical averagecompletion time for a given error recovery operation.

Processors 60 and 70 typically comprise general-purpose centralprocessing units (CPU), which are programmed in software to carry outthe functions described herein. The software may be downloaded to module36, controller 68 and module 36 in electronic form, over a network, forexample, or it may be provided on non-transitory tangible media, such asoptical, magnetic or electronic memory media. Alternatively, some or allof the functions of processors 60 and 70 may be carried out by dedicatedor programmable digital hardware components, or using a combination ofhardware and software elements.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

ERROR RECOVERY MODE

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram that schematically illustrates a method forstorage device 50 to perform one or more error recovery operations inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In an initialstep 90, in response to detecting a problem in storage device 50,controller processor 70 starts executing a series of one or more errorrecovery operations, thereby placing the storage device in an errorrecovery mode.

In a first receive step 92, controller processor 70 receives an I/Orequest from module processor 60. Examples of I/O requests include, butare not limited to requests to read data from storage media 66 andrequests to write data to the storage media. In a first convey step 94,controller processor 70 stores the I/O request to either read commandqueue 78 or write command queue 80, and conveys, to module processor 60,a message indicating that the storage device is in an error recoverymode.

In a second receive step 96, controller processor 70 receives, frommodule processor 60, a request to identify the one or more initiatederror recovery operations that the controller processor is scheduled toperform while storage device 50 is in the error recovery mode. In asecond convey step 98, controller processor 70 responds to the requestby conveying, to module processor 60, a message identifying the one ormore error recovery operations that the controller processor isscheduled to perform while storage device 50 is in the error recoverymode.

In a first comparison step 100, if controller processor 70 receives asubsequent request from module processor 60 to cancel one of the one ormore identified error recovery operations, then in a cancellation step102, the controller processor cancels the one of the one or moreidentified error recovery operations in response to the subsequentrequest.

The one of the one or more identified error recovery operations maycomprise a first error recovery operation currently executing oncontroller processor 70 or a second error recovery operation scheduledto be executed by the controller processor. As described supra, whilestorage device is in an error recovery mode, controller processor mayperform multiple error recovery operations. In operation, controllerprocessor 70 can use an execution queue (not shown) to scheduleexecution of the multiple error recovery operations. Therefore, if thesecond error recovery operation in the execution queue matches the oneof the one or more identified error recovery operations, then thecontroller processor can remove the second error recovery operation fromthe execution queue.

In a completion step 104, controller processor 70 completes execution ofany non-cancelled error recovery operations, thereby enabling storagedevice 59 to exit the error recovery mode. Finally, in a perform step106, controller processor 70 performs the I/O request received in step92, and the method ends. Returning to step 100, if controller processor70 does not receive a request from module processor 60 to cancel any ofthe identified error recovery operations, then the method continues withstep 104.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

While one or more embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated in detail, the skilled artisan will appreciate thatmodifications and adaptations to those embodiments may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention as set forth in thefollowing claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A storage device, comprising: storage mediaconfigured to store data; and a hardware controller having a controllerprocessor configured to perform one or more error recovery operations onthe storage media, and to convey, while performing the one or more errorrecovery operations, a message indicating a status of the one or moreerror recovery operations to a host processor in communication with thestorage device; wherein the controller processor is configured toreceive, from the host processor, a request to identify the one or moreerror recovery operations, to convey, in response to receiving therequest, a message to the host processor identifying the one or moreerror recovery operations, to receive, from the host processor, asubsequent request to cancel one of the one or more identified errorrecovery operations, and to cancel execution of the one of the one ormore identified error recovery operations in response to the subsequentrequest; and wherein the one of the one or more identified errorrecovery operations is selected from a list comprising a first errorrecovery operation currently executing on the controller processor and asecond error recovery operation scheduled to be executed by thecontroller processor.
 2. The storage device according to claim 1,wherein the storage device is selected from a list comprising a harddisk drive and a solid state disk drive.
 3. The storage device accordingto claim 1, wherein the controller processor is configured to convey themessage in response to receiving an input/output (I/O) request from thehost processor.
 4. The storage device according to claim 3, wherein theI/O request is selected from a list comprising a read data request and awrite data request.
 5. The storage device according to claim 1, whereinthe controller processor is configured to convey the message bybroadcasting the message to the host processor upon the controllerprocessor initiating the one or more error recovery operations.
 6. Thestorage device according to claim 1, and comprising a disk head having amagnetoresistive (MR) element configured to read and write data to andfrom the storage media, and coupled to an analog/digital (A/D)converter, and wherein the one or more error recovery operations areselected from a list comprising changing an automatic gain control ofthe A/D converter, positioning the disk head off-track in order to readthe data, and adjusting a bias value of the MR element.
 7. A method,comprising: performing, by a storage device having storage media, one ormore error recovery operations on the storage media; conveying, whileperforming the one or more error recovery operations, a messageindicating a status of the one or more error recovery operations to ahost processor in communication with the storage device; and receiving,from the host processor, a request to identify the one or more errorrecovery operations, conveying, in response to the request, a message tothe host processor identifying the one or more error recoveryoperations, receiving, from the host processor, a subsequent request tocancel one of the one or more identified error recovery operations, andcanceling execution of the one of the one or more error identifiedrecovery operations in response to the subsequent request; wherein theone of the one or more identified error recovery operations is selectedfrom a list comprising a first error recovery operation currentlyexecuting on the controller processor and a second error recoveryoperation scheduled to be executed by the controller processor.
 8. Themethod according to claim 7, wherein the storage device is selected froma list comprising a hard disk drive and a solid state disk drive.
 9. Themethod according to claim 7, and comprising receiving an input/output(I/O) request from the host processor, and conveying the message inresponse to the I/O request.
 10. The method according to claim 9,wherein the I/O request is selected from a list comprising a read datarequest and a write data request.
 11. The method according to claim 7,wherein conveying the message comprises broadcasting the message to thehost processor upon the controller processor initiating the one or moreerror recovery operations.
 12. The method according to claim 7, whereinthe storage device comprises a disk head having a magnetoresistive (MR)element configured to read and write data to and from the storage media,and coupled to an analog/digital (A/D) converter, and wherein the one ormore error recovery operations are selected from a list comprisingchanging an automatic gain control of the A/D converter, positioning thedisk head off-track in order to read the data, and adjusting a biasvalue of the MR element.
 13. A computer program product, the computerprogram product comprising: a non-transitory computer readable storagemedium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, thecomputer readable program code comprising: computer readable programcode configured to perform, by a storage device having storage media,one or more error recovery operations on the storage media; computerreadable program code configured to convey, while performing the one ormore error recovery operations, a message indicating a status of the oneor more error recovery operations to a host processor in communicationwith the storage device; and computer readable program code configuredto receive, from the host processor, a request to identify the one ormore error recovery operations, to convey a message to the hostprocessor identifying the one or more error recovery operations, toreceive, from the host processor, a subsequent request to cancel one ofthe one or more identified error recovery operations, and to cancelexecution of the one of the one or more identified error recoveryoperations in response to the subsequent request; wherein the one of theone or more identified error recovery operations is selected from a listcomprising a first error recovery operation currently executing on thecontroller processor and a second error recovery operation scheduled tobe executed by the controller processor.
 14. The computer programproduct according to claim 13, and comprising computer readable programcode configured to receive an input/output (I/O) request from the hostprocessor, and to convey the message in response to the I/O request. 15.The computer program product according to claim 13, wherein the computerreadable program code is configured to convey the message bybroadcasting the message to the host processor upon the controllerprocessor initiating the one or more error recovery operations.